Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an alignment system and more specifically it relates to a polished rod alignment system for correcting the misalignment of a polished rod to the stuffing box, such as on a pumping oil well.
Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Polished rods are often utilized in combination with stuffing boxes in pumping operations, such as at an oil well. The polished rod will generally slide up and down through the stuffing box and into the oil well, such as through a blowout preventer. Due to the vibrations typical at pumping sites (such as from the oil well itself or from heavy machinery passing nearby), as well as settling, frost heaving and thaw cycles typical at pumping sites, the polished rod will often lose alignment with the stuffing box.
In such situations, it is often an arduous and inefficient task to correct the alignment. Often the pump will need to be shut down entirely so as to allow for the alignment of the polished rod to be adjusted. Such a shutdown can lead to lost pumping time, the requirement to add a crane, and labor costs related to leveling and aligning the pumping unit to the well bore (such as aligning the polish rod to the stuffing box), and thus loss of efficiency of the pumping operation overall.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved polished rod alignment system for correcting the misalignment of a polished rod to the stuffing box, such as on a pumping oil well.